May 2007
Monthly Archive
americanidol08 May 2007 10:37 pm
American Idol Season 6 Final 4
Barry Gib… ahh ahh ahh ahh… staying alive… i think next week is going to be Rev Run’s week, so, i hope Blake makes it through tonight… anyway… i like the 70’s thing, but i don’t think any of the girls will really bring out the best of the disco vibe… Blake has the best chance to shine, and other than him, i think we’re going to get buried in ballads… blah… off we go…
- Melinda (The Good Dr) Doolitle: i didn’t really hear much of the first song… | SONG TWO: she’s so funny, “I’d rather be wet than be a loser”… very well composed here… i like this song… she’s got such a great tone, but it’s a little on the boring side… oh, never mind… that’s a grand finale… i daresay she’s going to be in danger this week though…
- Bl-Bl-Blake: ooh, this is a great genre for Blake… and this is a decent song for him… that chorus is good… the break down is kind of cool, but not really right for the song… his vocals are a tad off today too… but overall a pretty good performance… | SONG TWO: this is an odd choice… a non-hit… i guess Blake’s just hoping to show the world that he’s a brilliant arranger… which is fine… he’s doing a better job, but man… why this song… and, if i’m being completely honest, why that shirt…
- Lakisha (Soul Train): you know what… she really has no range… she can hold a note and sound pretty powerful, but this really shows that she has a very, very small window within which she can operate… out of breathe, too “busy” and really not working for me… | SONG TWO: Judge Judy? and Mum… and Lil’ Kim - i mean Lakisha is coming back… ha… how ironic, he just told her that has great range… this may as well be the same exact song as the first one… why does it look like she just got out of a dentist chair when she sings?… ouch… that’s some serious screaming from a novacained Lakisha… i’m not feeling it…
- Jordin (The Firecracker): dang… she’s really grown up during this competition… she’s very calm and collected and on point… this is a nice, very controlled, performance.. strongest of the first performances i’d say (again, i missed most of Melinda’s though)… good stuff… | SONG TWO: oh, that started off on the wrong note, but she has a great recovery and she’s on and off… wait, this is the same style as the first one as well… she does a good job again, but really, does she need to prove that she can sing the same style several times a night? maybe… but it seems to safe to me… i liked those held notes, but it wasn’t as good as the first one…
Bottom Line: what do i pick here, bottom two? just the boot? honestly, i think the only one really safe is Jordin… I’m gonna go with Lakisha getting the boot though…
peace… love… bdg…
Rush of Fools InTRu-view… more soon…
That’s the latest interview… it’s not the best, kind of scattered thoughts, but i got a free lunch from it… and i enjoyed the conversation…
coming later this week or in the near future… (I’m in the process of tidying them up)… Urban D and Bethany Dillon… and a bundle of features and of course some more album reviews… we’re also chugging through the Glory Revealed book (hopefully some of you are following along)… and i may just through in a few curve balls here and there…
keep it locked!
peace… love… bdg…
Glory Revealed: Chapter 7 - Suffering
if you can just indulge me for a moment… “thufferin thuccatath!”…
thanks, that’s generally the first thing that comes to my mind when i see or hear the word “suffering”… anyway… the second thing is actually much more appropriate for this discussion… when James says that we’re supposed to rejoice in the midst of suffering…
this chapter takes a different tone as it’s written as if it were a letter from Job, the figurehead for Biblical suffering… Satan’s punching bag so to speak… and Job is offering advice to all of us since suffering is part of life… he basically says that we need to suck it up and deal… or at least allow God to teach us through the trials… makes sense, but it’s hard to swallow…
pretty basic message here… and a short chapter…
peace… love… bdg…
Glory Revealed: Chapter 6 - Accountability
David talks about horse racing and i all but tune out… i’m not really into the whole racing scene - horses, dogs, cars, whatever… i didn’t really tune out and i read the chapter of course (of course)… the illustration is actually more a story about care… a championship caliber racehorse broke its leg at the beginning of a race… it would’ve kept going despite this injury, which would’ve only made things worse, but the jockey was aware enough to stop it…
the point is that we don’t always know when we need to quit… or when we’re off the right path… just today, we were talking about Joshua in church and the pastor asked, “Would you rather win (or lose) on your own terms, than to submit to God?”… i think most of us would natually choose to try it our own way…
we need each other to remind us to stay on course… one of the verse references for this chapter is “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another”… besides being a great hip-hop album by The Procussions, it’s a great reminder that we can’t do it alone… we need to be held accountable by someone…
peace… love… bdg…
NEWS: The Rocket Summer, The Wedding, Jon McL, more…
The Rocket Summer is finishing up a new album, which i am more than ready for… the album is slated for 17 July and is titled, Do You Feel… currently the lead single, “Break It Out” is available for listening at MySpace.com/TheRocketSummer or TheRocketSummer.com…
The Wedding’s latest effort, Polarity, is currently streaming in it’s entirety at emotionalpunk.com… so they say anyway… i haven’t found it myself…
Jon McLaughlin’s album, Indiana, is one of the featured new releases streaming at Music.AOL.com…
CCM Magazine launched a redesign and a refocus with their May 2007 issue… in celebration of this, they’re offering the May Issue (with TobyMac on the cover) free digitally… just check out http://www.ccmmagazine.com/promo for more details…
happy friday, keep it locked…
peace… love… bdg…
Glory Revealed: Chapter 5 - Sin
Well, this is awkward… we don’t talk about or acknowledge sin in this day and age, right? We should probably just skip this chapter in case someone might get offended by the harsh and judgemental language… yeah right…
Anyway, this chapter talks about how sin grows in our lives until it finally manifests itself in a big way… it’s never the “big” sins that start things off, it’s always a little lie… a wrong decision here… and then after time… you’ve been desensitized, your guard is officially down, and WHAM! you wake up wondering what happened… how did we fall so far so fast?
King David is a perfect example with his unkingly encounters with Bathsheba… but the real question is, how does God reveal His glory in our shortcomings, in our sinfulness?… doesn’t seem to make much sense, but really it reminds me of Romans when Paul is talking about how, where sin abounds, grace abounds even more…
because of our sin, God can show the world the full extent of His love… that, even in our sin, He loved us enough to die to provide a way for our salvation… but, should we then continue in sin so that His grace can increase to its fullness? Heaven forbid!
peace… love… bdg…
Glory Revealed: Chapter 4 - Not Fearing
Fearing and now not fearing? why don’t you just make up your mind?…
obviously, this is a different definition of “fear” - gotta love the English language, right? - and the point is no less poignant…
i know and have known many people who have allowed their lives to be ruled by fear… fear of failure, fear of success, fear of being embarrassed, fear of not looking “Christian” enough, fear of losing a job, fear of [you name it]… and fear is a common thing and it’s a natural response to the world around us… i mean, how many times does the Bible directly say “do not be afraid or discouraged,” am i right?
But here’s the thing… and i’ve been afraid many times in my life… specifically, as i read this chapter, i was reminded of 9-11 - obviously a scary moment of time in all our lives, but being in the shadow of DC and in the flight path of Dulles Airport and surrounded by a handful of key operational facilities, it was a particularly fearful time… and then not long after that, we had a sniper driving around shooting people at gas stations and what not - some within 5 miles of my house - it’s easy to be scared… Virginia Tech is another tragic example… there’s a constant unknown about life that can instantly bring death… and it’s scary at times…
But here’s the thing… and maybe i’ll actually get to it this time… we don’t have to be fearful and most certainly shouldn’t be marked by fear… which is how i would describe a number of folks that i’ve worked with or encountered in my lifetime… we have not been given a spirit of fear… we’ve been freed from fear because we have been given a glimpse of the bigger picture…
i think of Elisha in the city of Dothan surrounded… and he could’ve been scared… but he saw the bigger picture… he saw God’s glory revealed…. oh that’s the point of this book, isn’t it…
side note: the other day, my son was singing “God is bigger than the boogie man” and he doesn’t even know what the boogie man is… but he can see the bigger picture (except when it comes to the big bad wolf apparently)…
anyway, that’s what i got from this chapter…
peace… love… bdg…
Glory Revealed: Chapter 3 - Fearing
We live in a world where individuality and personal identity seem to be the most important things we can hope to attain and maintain… this chapter opens with a description of what it takes to be an effective soldier… basically, you give up your individual needs in fear (or reverence) of those who outrank you…
we struggle with this for sure… this is why so many marriages end in divorce… we’re a selfish society… we can’t bring ourselves to sacrifice anything for the greater good… a lot of us don’t even believe that there IS a greater good…
i also love the comparison of being buddies with God versus working out our salvation “with fear and trembling”… big difference… there’s a song that i honestly think is pretty corny, but the point is pretty important and relevant… it’s called “I’m Not Dude, I’m Dad” by Ceili Rain… basically the same idea… you can be friendly with your child, but they need to know that your in charge and that it’s not an equal partnership…
a lot to unpack from that short chapter actually…
peace… love… bdg…
general& news01 May 2007 10:54 pm
Jars Remix, Boomin’ Contest, Amy moves on, more…
Some random news bits from around the scene…
First up, Jars of Clay is doing a contest for fans to remix “Dead Man (Carry Me)” from Good Monsters and make it your own… interested?… simply head over to http://stems.nettwerk.com/jocremix/remix.action, download the tracks and have at it… oh… good times…
By way of other contest news… TobyMac and HearItFirst.com are running a contest for fans to shoot a video for the song, “Boomin’”… more details available at http://www.hearitfirst.com/tobyvideocontest/…
Amy Grant recently announced a new partnership with EMI CMG which will include re-issuing 17 of her albums in digital format, ringtones, new greatest hits compilation(s) and possible new albums… full story here
lots of new releases this week, including Derek Webb, pureNRG, Building 429, Nate Huss, Joel Engle and Sound of the New Breed…
peace… love… bdg…
americanidol01 May 2007 10:19 pm
American Idol Season 6 Final 6
yeah yeah… i’m back again… missed another week, this time due to GMA Week, but i’m excited about Bon Jovi music week…
Phil (the Pill):oh, he’s starting out in the crowd… i’m a little nervous that his voice won’t be rock enough for this song, but it’s probably one of the best he could’ve chosen… that jacket is the bomb… and he’s killing it… i like it a lot… he’s right on point with it… giving pounds to Randy and working the audience… he’s got it going on this week man…
Jordin (The Firecracker): Livin on a Prayer.. that’s gonna be exciting… oooh woah wah oooh…. alright… this isn’t the best per se… but i can’t decide if it’s simply because i’m used to Jon’s vocal to it… i think maybe she’s just putting a little drama into it…. the ending is kind of strong… but yeah… too many pieces of flair, i dare say…
Lakisha (Soul Train): oh jeepers… slim side? she’s just so dang cocky to me… i think she’s gonna sound absolutely terrible, but at least she’s not singing a former Idol’s song this week… it’s too many words per line for her… she can’t get them out fast enough… and she’s off key a bit… speaking of too much drama… this is over the top… i don’t know if i’ve heard this song in it’s original version… maybe that’s why i wasn’t completely turned off by it… but i’m still not feeling it…
Bl-Bl-Blake: You Give Love a Bad Name… aw yeah… oooh… that’s a neat new look… HA! a jukebox!… yeah… this is definitely a risk… but it i like it so far… that chorus is hot… on point… OH GOSH that breakdown was AWESOME!… i know a lot of people aren’t gonna like that… but i might have just found the first AI download that i’m gonna buy… we got a hot one tonight!…
Chris (Richie) Richardson: what the… he’s doing the same song as Phil?… any advice? learn the dang lyrics… oh that’s… crap, what DID Phil sing?… i don’t know… i don’t like this one at all… he’s so nasally and i don’t think this style suits him at all…
Melinda (The Good Dr) Doolitle: i’m probably most nervous about Melinda this week, because she’s so not rock… but wow, that first note was nice… that’s a really weird vocal from her… i’m not sure if i like… it’s not horrible, but it’s a total warp of her normally killer chops… i kind of get the whole Tina Turner/Proud Mary vibe from it… which is pretty sweet… yeah… actually it’s pretty dang hot actually… i can dig it…
Bottom Line: woah… tough week to call, to be honest… i mean, i have clear thoughts about who should go home… okay… Lakisha and Chris are going home… that’s all i got…
peace… love… bdg…
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